Fans of the Greek soccer team, Olympiakos, forced their way into the grounds of the ancient Acropolis in Athens on Wednesday during celebrations for winning this year’s championship.
The Culture Ministry said around 500 fans were involved in the incident, remaining among the site’s 2,500-year-old marble temples for about 15 minutes but causing no damage to the monuments.
“The staff at the Acropolis reacted calmly. They contacted the police and tried to keep them outside the area but the number of fans was overwhelming,” the ministry said.
Victoria ateniense por la mínima en un derbi descafeinado sin nada en juego.
La noticia está en que la previa del #OLYPAOK varios cientos de ultras de Olympiakos asaltaron la Acrópolis entre cánticos y borrachera.
No injuries or arrests were reported, and the ministry statement said the site suffered no damage.
Olympiakos fans celebrated their 46th Greek title, the second won without fans allowed to attend matches due to the pandemic. The team, based at the Greek capital’s port of Piraeus, played its last home game on Wednesday at Giorgios Karaiskakis stadium.
The ministry said the fans tried to justify their invasion arguing that supporters of cross-town rivals Panathinaikos had pulled off a similar stunt five years ago.
Having grown up in Greece, in a traditional family, I always believed that school alongside family is what prepares students for the journey called life. A journey that admittedly is not all roses and butterflies or dinosaurs and soccer balls.
I attended co-ed schools during my school and Uni years, I always had to compete with girls and boys in sports as well as academically and I spent most of my early life with bruised knees because I enjoyed the challenge of playing soccer with my male classmates more than playing hopscotch with the female ones.
Lucky I am still around and not mentally stigmatised (I think). Well, I learnt what the Offside rule is and I consider this a skill!
Almost two decades after I graduated from Senior High School, having lived in three continents and now a mother of two, I thank my parents for not even thinking of sending me to a single-sex school (there are not that many in Greece anyway).
Reading the comments in recent conversations sparked by a series of articles in Australian media, I can’t help but think how in an otherwise developed country we still need to converse about single-sex and co-education and different school uniforms for male and female students.
Understandably people are entitled to their opinions and I do get that it is easier for schools (or maybe businesses?) to run the show with same sex students -in terms of marketing and liability measures- but what about the future of our kids and the society we live in?
When did boys and girls became a ‘distraction’ to each other’s academic achievements and when did a relationship between students of different sex became a sin?
Oh man! I reminisce the high school years when at the parties we were waiting for Mariah Carey to it kick off, to dance to the blues and the normality of things back then! And my best friend, Babis, who was giving me tips on how to keep running when I was thinking I was about to die (in vain).
Political correctness is one thing but academic excellence and NAPLAN scores mean little to my Culturally and Linguistically Diverse mind, when sexual assault and the ill-treatment of women in the workplace have become national debate and the gender pay and superannuation gap are a constant.
Come on Australia, we can do better.
Maybe learn from your diverse communities this time around and all the CALD scientists, politicians, artists that call the country home.
I don’t want schools to teach my children times tables only. Nor do I want them to live in a protected bubble. I expect them to learn how to respect themselves and each other. How to be confident, create meaningful relationships and break stereotypes. The ‘boys will be boys’ attitude needs to stop here!
Would I have the resilience to stand on my two feet as a new migrant in Australia if I hadn’t had so many amazing male friends in my early school years? Would I have had the chance to write this article, if I haven’t had – as a woman and a professional – moved on, every time someone undermined me? It’s anyone’s guess.
Life.
It’s all about keeping the ball rolling, as I learnt from my male peers. If I can do it with grace, the better.
On Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after the Treasurer delivered the 2021 Federal Budget, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with multicultural media representatives, took their questions and reiterated the fact that “migrant communities have done an extraordinary job” in keeping the country safe.
Earlier the same day, speaking on Today, the PM rejected accusations the 2021 big-spending budget was devised to win re-election and insisted international borders would likely remain shut until mid-2022 for “lives and livelihoods” to be saved, a statement he repeated during the multicultural media brief.
“We are conscious of how we accommodate and mitigate the impacts of being unable to bring more people into the country and not allowing Australians to leave,” said Morrison, stressing that the government’s priority is to supress the virus and not the opening of the international borders.
“I can understand the difficulty there is in not being able to see parents and family who are overseas, particularly if you have young children. We all understand that. But the reality is we are living in the worst pandemic of the century,” said the Prime Minister and stated that the borders will stay closed for as long as needed “to keep Australia safe and the economy moving forward.”
Morrison: Migrant communities to play an increasing role in the care sector
Answering to the Greek Herald’s question on how the budget specifically supports women from migrant backgrounds, the Prime Minister said that it does so through the measures for small businesses as well as through the care sector reforms.
“All the measures for small business in particular, they go to the heart of the opportunity for women,” Morrison said, explaining the importance of having adequately trained and linguistically diverse labour force in the aged care and NDIS sectors.
#Budget2021 delivers $17.7 billion in practical and targeted new funding to significantly improve the aged care system.
It’s about ensuring older Australians are treated with respect, care and dignity.
“A very significant portion of our labour force that goes to support those sectors actually come through migrant communities and particularly from women. We have additional support to ensure that we can meet the big challenges we have both with the aged care reforms as well as supporting the needs that we know are present in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).”
Mr Morrison said that the government’s aged care reforms “are about getting the right workforce for the right places” and highlighted that migrant communities are going to play an increasing role in this respect.
Tuesday’s budget revealed the aged care sector will receive $17.7 billion over five years, after the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety estimated one-in-three people living in aged care in Australia experience neglect and physical or emotional abuse.
The seventh Annual Premier’s Iftar Dinner was held recently in Victoria and President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria, Bill Papastergiadis, was there to share a meal and conversations with other community and religious leaders.
“It was a symbol of multiculturalism at its finest with representatives from all faiths in attendance. I had the privilege of being seated with Minister Horne along with a senior Jewish rabbi and Imam Mohammad Ramzan, amongst many others,” said Papastergiadis.
Last year, the Dinner was held online due to covid restrictions.
Thanks @JamesMerlinoMP for hosting the Premier’s Iftar Dinner 2021.
— Ahmadi Muslim Women Victoria (@lajnavic) May 11, 2021
“In the speeches by the Acting Premier Mr Merlino and the Minister of Multiculturalism, Ms Spence, reference was made to the importance of diversity and difference and how these ideals are important in making our state such a vibrant and welcoming place
“Acting Premier Mr Merlino also noted how much he enjoyed his work as education minister by visiting schools and seeing so many smiling faces at school assembly all from so many diffrerent parts of the world,” Papastergiadis said.
“In his address of Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, the Grand Mufti of Australia, specific reference was made to the relevance of peace in the muslim faith in that the greeting commences with the words “may peace be with you”.
Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed also reflected on how important it is to protect multiculturalism in Australia and he emphasised on the the need for the population to be vaccinated.
“Being seated with Imam Mohammad Ramzan, I had the opportunity to talk to him about his daily work. I learnt about the terrific work being done by him in the prison sector. A challenging role but one which Iman Mohammad Ramzan takes great pride in. Keeping people out of prison is an important part of what he sees his job is.
“I felt blessed to be an Australian the other night at the Iftar Dinner. I felt blessed to be in a country that respected each person’s faith and ethnicity. I also felt lucky to be in the company of many great people. Australia is one of the few countries globally that truly practices multiculturalism and respects all faiths. Events such as these bring us together,” said the GCM President.
Two public gardens in the area of San Donato – San Vitale of the Municipality of Bologna in Italy, have been named after renowned Greek poets George Seferis and Dionysios Solomos the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday.
Foreign Affairs Secretary General, John Chrysoulakis, participated in the virtual ceremony held to mark the event and expressed his excitement for the initiative.
Συμμετείχα διαδικτυακά και να χαιρέτησα εκ μέρους της Γενικής Γραμματείας σε τελετή ονοματοδοσίας που έλαβε χώρα στην Μπολόνια. Οι δύο κήποι που τώρα φέρουν τα ονόματα των ποιητών μας Σεφέρη και Σολωμού αποτελούν πλέον τόπους νοητής σύνδεσης και συνάντησης Ελλάδας και Ιταλίας. pic.twitter.com/d0oRuKpcEo
— Γιάννης Χρυσουλάκης (@johnchrysoul) May 11, 2021
In attendance at the virtual event were also the Mayor of Bologna, Virginia Merola, the President of the San Donato – San Vitale region, Dr. Simone Borsari and the President of the local Greek Community Emilia-Romana, Elena Metsiou.
In his speech, Mr. Chrysoulakis said that the General Secretariat of Public Diplomacy and Hellenes Abroad promotes and supports initiatives that strengthen intercultural relations and cooperation with countries like Italy, a long term partner of Greece.
Chrysoulakis talked about the importance of Solomos’ and Seferis’, contibution to modern literacy and the modern world and expressed his gratitude to his Italian counterparts for the initiative.
“Dionysios Solomos envisioned the Greek National Anthem, the Hymn to Freedom, under the influence of Italian culture,” Mr Chrysoulakis said, thanking the local Greek Community for their contribution and the Italians for this recognition and their ongoing friendship.
The Greek government has offered a €300,000 reward to try to track down the culprits behind the murder of a British-born student in her suburban Athens home.
The reward was publicised hours after Caroline Crouch, 20, was strangled in front of her baby daughter by armed burglars who had bound her husband, Babis Anagnostopoulos, to a chair after breaking in. The intruders also killed the family’s dog, leaving it hanging from a banister in the house.
Greece’s citizens’ protection minister said the county was reeling from the crime. “We are all shaken up and personally I am shaken up,” Michalis Chrisochoidis told the annual Delphi Economic Forum on Tuesday. “We rarely encounter such brutality in Greece, both in Greek society and in crime.”
Crouch is believed to have been tortured for up to an hour as the thieves tried to coerce her into revealing the location of thousands of pounds of cash and jewellery, which they then made off with. They are believed to have taken €15,000 hidden in a board game.
Caroline Crouch and her husband, Babis Anagnostopoulos, with their child. Source: The Guardian
Greek media reported that Anagnostopoulos, a helicopter pilot, 32, had been forced to listen as his wife cried for help, before he managed to set himself free and alert authorities.
The raid took place at about 4.30am when three masked men broke into the house while another stood outside guarding the building.
“We had bought a plot of land and had money in the house for initial works. I heard my wife, who was tied up in the bed, constantly shouting for help. We begged them not to do us any harm,” the news portal, Newsit, quoted Anagnostopoulos as telling police.
Crouch, the daughter of a British couple who had moved to the Greek island of Alonissos when she was an infant, was sleeping with her 11-month-old baby in an attic area when the thieves broke in. One police officer said there were signs Crouch “had put up resistance”.
Greek authorities said distraught relatives, including her parents, were being given psychosocial support. Her mother is believed to work in the tourism industry on Alonissos.
Two specialist police units have been seconded to investigate the crime and were concentrating on CCTV footage in the belief that the culprits had followed the couple for several days.
The bounty is highly unusual in Greece – according to the broadcaster ERT there have only ever been four previously, in cases of terrorism or to catch hardened criminals.
The reward was outlined in a ministerial decision co-signed by Chrisochoidis and the deputy finance minister, Theodoros Skylakakis; an announcement said €300,000 would be given “to anyone who hands over data and information to the relevant authorities that will lead … to the arrest of the culprits”.
Every year the Federal Budget comprises thousands of pages of facts and figures covering spending on everything from tax cuts, health, education, welfare and more.
We’ve broken the most important information down into the things that really affect everyday Australians.
Find out what the 2021-22 Federal Budget means for you.
Economy
Economic growth will be 1.25 per cent in 2020-21 and reach a strong 4.25 per cent in 2021-22 before falling to 2.5 per cent the following year.
Unemployment has defied doomsday predictions of 8 per cent or more and is predicted to be 5.5 per cent this year. Next year it will fall to 5 per cent and then 4.75 per cent in 2022-23.
International borders will begin to re-open in 2022 but inbound and outbound travellers will remain at very low levels until the middle of 2022 at the earliest.
The 2020-21 deficit has been revised down by $52.7 billion from $213.7 billion to $161 billion
An additional $1.1 billion will be spent on women’s safety measures, including $261.4 million over two years in a new deal with the states to boost frontline family, domestic and sexual violence services.
There’s $351.6 million in funding for new health measures including more cash for drugs to fight breast cancer, lung cancer and osteoporosis and for women’s health initiatives that cover maternal, sexual and reproductive health. There’s also money for endometriosis research and genetic testing for pregnant women.
$1.7 billion over five years in extra money to cut the cost of childcare for families with two or more kids. Measures will boost the childcare rebate and remove the annual subsidy cap of $10,560 for high-income earners
The Morrison Government is committed to ensuring all Australians have opportunities to fulfil their potential. The 2021-22 #Budget invests $3.4 billion to improve outcomes in women’s safety, economic security & leadership, health & wellbeing.
There is $17.7 billion over five years responding to the Aged Care Royal Commission report on abuse and neglect in the system, including:
$6.5 billion for an extra 80,000 home care packages over two years, to help more people live in their homes for longer.
$3.2 billion to cover a $10 per person, per day increase in payment to aged care providers.
$3.9 billion to increase the number of “care minutes” each aged care resident receives per day to 200 minutes.
The Government will establish an independent pricing authority to support implementation & administration of the new funding residential #agedcare funding model #Budget2021
— Australian Ageing Agenda (@AustAgeAgenda) May 11, 2021
Income Tax
The so-called “Low and Middle Income Tax Offset” will remain in place for another year.
The tax rebate, which workers receive after completing their tax returns, is worth different amounts to different income groups. It was supposed to finish on June 30 but it will be extended by another 12 months.
This is how much you can expect to land back in your bank account if you’re in any of these wage brackets:
Photo Source: ABC
Mental Health
In his speech, the Treasurer shone a spotlight on the more than 65,000 Australians who attempt to take their own lives each year. Suicide is the leading cause of death among those aged 18 to 44, and so the government has committed $2.3 billion to mental health care and suicide prevention.
Our Government has nearly doubled spending on mental health since we came to office.
It is a clear national priority. #Budget2021 extends our support even further with a $2.3 billion commitment to mental health care and suicide prevention. pic.twitter.com/vkTzW4UxX6
More Headspace centres to support more young Australians
Expanding the model to those aged over 25, with a new Head to Health national network of 40 centres
Extra funding for treatment of eating disorders
Greater access to psychiatrists, psychologists and GPs through Medicare
Universal access to care for people discharged from hospital after attempting to take their own life
Establishing a new National Suicide Prevention Office
Setting up a Royal Commission into Defence and Veterans Suicide.
Business Owners
As well as the support announced for particular industries like small brewers, video gaming and medical and biotech start-ups, the budget also has a few perks for other businesses.
Last year’s business write-off perks are being extended by another 12 months.
That means businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion will be able to write off the full value of any eligible asset like a work vehicle or equipment they bought between last budget and June 30, 2023.
The extension also mean any losses incurred up to June 2023 can be offset against prior profits made going back to the 2018-19 financial year.
Superannuation
Older Australians will be able to contribute earnings or savings directly into their tax-friendly superannuation funds with the repeal of the “work test”.
Among other changes to super rules, the minimum age for those eligible for the scheme encouraging older people to downsize family homes will be reduced from 65 to 60, first home buyers will be able to access $50,000 of contributions from their super funds, up from $30,000, and people earning less than $450 a month will receive super payments thanks to the removal of the minimum income threshold.
*With information from: ABC, The Daily Telegraph, Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian
Greek Australian, Jake Peters, is well known in Melbourne’s Greek community for shining a spotlight on safe underage clubbing through his Greek-inspired business, Kosmos Events.
Now, he can also add another achievement to his list. Jake is currently working with the Lefkadian Brotherhood of Victoria to rebuild its youth group after it has laid dormant since the 1990’s.
The Brotherhood itself was initially established in 1942 by a group of like-minded Lefkadians who wanted to assist poor or sick members of the Brotherhood, as well as preserve the Lefkadian heritage and the continuation of Greek culture.
However, after about 30 years of inactivity, the Brotherhood is again actively seeking to engage all Lefkadians, and in particular the youth, to gather, meet and get to know each other.
“I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to work alongside the Committee and begin to build our youth group. My heart is in Lefkada, I love where my family is from. This brotherhood is so important to me,” Jake tells The Greek Herald about his new role.
“My family always tells me of the fun they had back in the day when they were attending all the youth events. It’s now my time to bring it back and build it back up to how it used to be! I can not wait to get this journey underway, and make not only my family proud, but make Lefkada proud!”
As Jake explains, many Lefkadians, now in their 40s, 50s and 60s, are now parents and grandparents who have very fond memories of the bonds and experiences made at the Brotherhood during their youth.
It’s this which the new committee seeks to revive and President of the Board of the Brotherhood, Alexandra Daglas, tells The Greek Herald she has no doubts Jake is up to the task.
“The Board is very excited that Jake has agreed to work with us and spearhead the Lefkadian youth revival,” Ms Daglas says.
“We have complete confidence that he will succeed in encouraging young Lefkadians back to our Lefkaditiko Spiti and to be proud of their Lefkadian roots. We can’t wait to see the hall full with the future generation.”
In a special interview series by Greece Is, distinguished members of the Kastellorizian diaspora in Australia have spoken out about the ways in which their roots have defined them.
This is what they had to say:
Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, AM
Emeritus Professor from the University of New South Wales’ School of Chemical Sciences and Engineering.
In her interview, Mrs Skyllas-Kazacos describes how although she was born in Kalymnos and migrated to Australia at a young age, she became a Kastellorizian by marriage.
“My husband Michael Kazacos… who made me a “Kazzie-by-marriage,” is part of a large Kastellorizian-Australian extended family who, like so many other Kastellorizians, came to Australia to work hard and build a better life for their familiesm” Mrs Skyllas-Kazacos tells Greece Is.
“As I came to know that extended family, I began to understand their deep-rooted love for and loyalty to their island.”
From there, Mrs Skyllas-Kazacos described her first trip to the island with her husband in 1985 and expressed her wishes that one day she is able to introduce the island to her grandchildren as well.
“As we got closer to the island and started to turn into the harbor, I was overcome with emotion as the small buildings and boats came into view – it felt as if we’d been transported to a different world, a different time,” she describes.
“Suddenly I knew why this tiny jewel in the Aegean Sea meant so much to its people and even to their descendants who had never known it.”
Nick Paspaley:
Head of the Paspaley Group in Darwin.
Nick Paspaley is connected to Paspaley Pearls, a company which is renowned for its beautiful pearl jewelry. Nick tells Greece Is that he thinks of Kastellorizo as “my patriarch.”
Nick Paspaley.
“My father passed away in 1984. He was very close and dear to me, and I am conscious that I exist because of him. My father existed because of Kastellorizo, so in a real sense I view Kastellorizo and my father as being the same thing. In this way, when I think of my father, I also think of Kastellorizo as my patriarch,” Nick says in the interview with Nicholas Pappas.
“I have very close friends in Australia who, coincidentally, also have roots in Kastellorizo. It’s interesting how successful those friends have become, just as my father was successful in his life.
“If asked how I identify myself: I simply consider myself as a Kastellorizian who is an Australian citizen.”
Dr John Yiannakis, OAM:
Well-known historian and academic in Perth.
Dr John Yiannakis begins his interview describing hos growing up in Western Australia, he was aware of its Greek world but “not appreciative of it or the Kastellorizian presence within it.” He stresses that this awareness came in his mid-teen years.
Dr John Yiannakis.
“Certainly, growing up in pre-multicultural Australia had its challenges. Yet, I knew there was something special and worthwhile about my Greek background, although at times as a teenager I tried to downplay it,” Dr Yiannakis told Greece Is.
“I came to realise that Greeks in this state, and Kastellorizians in particular, have made an extraordinary contribution at every level and in every sphere. From laborers to lawyers; academics to artists; entrepreneurs to sportspersons.
“In fact, the only non Anglo-Celt Governor of Western Australia has been a Kastellorizian. Despite their parochialism, there is a dynamism about Kastellorizians and a willingness to work for a greater good.”
Kerry Harmanis:
Mining magnate in Darwin.
Kerry Harmanis’ Kastellorizian roots are ingrained in him. He describes how his great-grandfather, Manolis Margaritis, lived with his family on Kastellorizo from at least 1860, his grandfather and father were born there, as well as his mother’s father.
“Being of Kastellorizian roots I have business, commerce and the sea in my blood, along with a strong and dynamic personality; I’m sometimes excitable, I love life, I laugh a lot and I work hard,” Harmanis says in the interview.
Kerry Harmanis. Picture: Iain Gillespie, The West Australian.
“The Kazzie community in Australia has done very well in commerce, academia, business, leadership – anywhere politics and argument exist, or else we aren’t Greeks!”
The business magnate then goes on to stress how the Kastellorizo community in Australia always comes together to support and promote their Greek heritage.
“A lot of money flows from Australia and the other Kastellorizian diasporas to the island. They have built houses and restored the island to the extent that it’s a very comfortable place now,” Harmanis says.
“Although we’re all busy in our own worlds, we still get together and are still close friends, no matter how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other.”
John Mangos:
TV presenter in Sydney.
John Mangos is a well-known TV presenter in Australia and he tells Greece Is how he has been a frequent visitor to the island of Kastellorizo for over 40 years, even becoming a part-resident after having built a home there.
John Mangos.
“My family and friends all know it’s where I wish to be laid to rest. Why do I feel this way? I grew up in an environment where my family only socialised with the extended family and other Kastellorizians, holding picnics and name day celebrations,” Mangos tells Nicholas Pappas.
“It was indeed insular, and it was somewhat competitive with those from other parts of Greece, too. A strong sense of patriotism and resilience developed. I was personally unaware that our culture, cuisine, music and dialect was different to other Greeks; I thought our way was the norm.
“With this camaraderie came a strong sense of identity and pride… Kastellorizo is not just in my blood. It is in my heart, my soul and my state of mind. I am known to say that my body lives in Australia but my true self lives in Kastellorizo.”
Dr Maria Kailis:
A well-known medical practitioner and the daughter of the late Michael Kailis of the seafood and pearl industries fame in Perth.
Dr Kailis reminisces her first ever trip to Kastellorizo in 1975, and describes how she saw her dad, Michael George Kailis, cry for the first time as he saw that the island needed revitalising.
Dr Maria Kailis.
“My father could see the island needed revitalising. With my mother, Patricia, and with the help of the architect George Murray, they poured love and effort into one of the first house restorations on the island. They also commissioned Dr Norman Ashton to research ancient Megisti. And no one will ever forget my sister Amanda’s tours of the patitiria (wine presses)!” Dr Kailis tells Greece Is.
The medical practitioner then goes on to describe which parts of her personality she believes come from Kastellorizo.
“…I am sure my little stocky legs that love climbing up and down mountains come from there. In my office, I have pictures and paintings of the place to gaze at every afternoon, and I think about walking up the mountain to see the sun set or diving into the amazing blue waters,” she says.
Laskarina Bouboulina was a Greek naval officer, the first female admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy and a protagonist of the Greek War of Independence in 1821.
Her contribution to the Greek Revolution was enormous for that time. She gave away all her property and belongings to maintain and equip the Greek fleet, as she was also the captain of one of her ships, named Agamemnon.
Laskarina will always be remembered as a symbol for the nation, both the Struggle and the Freedom. In a purely male-dominated world, the “Great Lady of Spetses” was a source of inspiration for the Greek nation, especially for women.
Until today, she still remains an inspiration for many Greeks, due to her heroic nature, she was a widow, a lonely mother and a philanthropist.
Laskarina Bouboulina was a Greek naval officer.
Early Life:
Laskarina was born in the prisons of Constantinople during her mother’s visit to her imprisoned father on May 11, 1771.
She was originally from Hydra, and her real last name was Pinotsi. After her mother’s second wedding to Dimitris Lazarou-Orloff, Laskarina had eight half-siblings, and they moved together to the island of Spetses.
She married twice, first to Dimitrios Yiannouzas and then to the wealthy shipowner and captain Dimitrios Bouboulis, and she adopted the surname. Both of her marriages were tragic.
Laskarina married her first husband, Dimitrios Yiannouzas, at the age of 17, and from this marriage, she had three children. But at the age of only 26, she became a widow after her husband was killed in a clash with Algerian pirates.
Her second husband, Bouboulis, suffered the same fate as her first. In 1811, Bouboulis was killed in a fight with Algerian pirates.
Laskarina Bouboulina, who was 40 at the time, took over his fortune and trade company. She herself had four more ships constructed at her own expense, including the massive warship Agamemnon.
Laskarina Bouboulina surrounded by her crew.
Support of the Greek independence movement:
Laskarina is said to have joined the Filiki Etaireia, an underground organisation planning and preparing Greece for a revolution against Ottoman rule.
She purchased weapons and ammunition at her own expense and secretly transported them to Spetses in her ships. Laskarina was one of the only females in the organisation but had a major impact on the movement.
Taking part in sieges, blockages and providing supplies for soldiers of the revolution are just some of the amazing things Laskarina did to support Greece’s independence.
A ‘Bouboulina Museum’ has been founded in honour of Laskarina Bouboulina.
Laskarina Bouboulina was assassinated in Spetses in 1825 as result of a family dispute. The dispute was between the Koutsis family and Laskarina.
It began because the daughter of Christodoulou Koutsis and Bouboulina’s son, Georgios Yiannouzas, had run away together in secret to get married. Christodoulos Koutsis went to Laskarina’s house with armed members of his family in search of her.
When Laskarina heard of this, she was enraged and approached them from the balcony. Someone fired at her as she was arguing with Christodoulos Koutsis. The shot was to the head and killed her instantly; the attacker was never found.
After her death, Tsar Alexander I of Russia awarded the honorary rank of Admiral of the Russian Navy to Laskarina, making her the first woman in world naval history to hold this position.
